The Wickham Point immigration Detention Centre, 30 kilometres southeast of Darwin. Photo: Glenn CampbellAn Afghan man who is believed to have tried to take his own life has been returned to a West Australian detention centre after a week-long stay in a hospital.

Another asylum seeker tried to commit suicide at Wickham Point Detention Centre on Sunday morning.

A fellow detainee said the Afghan man, believed to be Ali Jaffery, “cut his throat” at the Yongah​ Hill Detention Centre, north-west of Perth, on August 21.

A spokesperson for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said on August 21, a male detainee was transferred from Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre to hospital, where he received medical treatment.

The spokesman said the man was returned to Yongah Hill on August 28. They would not give any other information, saying it would be “inappropriate to discuss individual medical circumstances”.

The detainee said the man, who was in his late 20s, had been in the “mental health room” and didn’t mingle with anyone.

“There was too much blood,” the detainee said.

“I saw the blanket and his singlet … it was covered in blood. All of it was was red.

“There was blood in the front of the room.”

The detainee said others who had been inside the room saw both the bed and the floor were covered in blood.

He said such incidents of self-harm had become the norm at the centre.

“Every day someone tries to hang themselves,” he said.

“Whatever we do, nothing happens.”

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said the man’s visa had been cancelled, but he couldn’t be returned home because he was a refugee or awaiting a decision on his status.

Mr Rintoul said the man was yet another victim of the government’s detention regime.

“If an Australian citizen commits a crime, then they pay whatever penalty the court establishes and … they are considered to have paid their debt to society,” he said.

“But someone who is an asylum seeker or refugee, even if they have completed their sentence … they are subject to immigration detention on top.

“There is no excuse for indefinite detention; it is a recipe for mental illness and attempted suicide.”

Mr Rintoul said it was concerning that the man had been returned to the centre.

“He is back in the circumstances that is likely to mean he will try again [to harm himself].”

The latest incident follows the death of a young Afghan asylum seeker at the Yongah Hill Detention Centre just over four weeks ago.

Mohammad Nasim Najafi​ died on July 31 amid claims he had been denied medical treatment for two weeks despite complaining of heart trouble.

Mr Rintoul said an asylum seeker had also tried to commit suicide at 1.15am on Sunday at the Wickham Point Detention Centre.

A spokeswoman for the Department on Immigration and Border Protection said an incident had occurred at Wickham Point Detention Centre.

“The detainee involved is receiving appropriate medical and mental health support and care,” she said. For help or information on mental health issues call Lifeline 131 114

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

A total collapse of the Chinese property market is unlikely, says Gavekal’s China research director Andrew Baston.China’s allegedly imminent recession has become a popular topic recently after the plunges of its equity markets and the devaluation of the renminbi currency sent tremors through the international investor community, but a leading economic researcher says most of these fears are overblown.

While there are many legitimate concerns about China’s inevitable slowdown, Gavekal’s China research director Andrew Baston says, fears China is teetering on the verge economic collapse are misguided.

“Such fears are exaggerated; China’s economy is not collapsing. But it is slowing,” Mr Baston said in a research note.

The note details how investors are rightfully concerned about the rising domestic debt, the government’s recent failures to steer the economy coupled with the slow down in investment as well as in heavy industry and commodity sectors, but ultimately concluded an economic collapse was unlikely.

With construction stagnating and investment at its weakest in 10 years, Mr Baston said Beijing deploying looser monetary policies would have limited impact so the slowdown was inevitable.

But this looser monetary policy will be hard to implement because the level of domestic debt is so high.

“With total debt at 250% of GDP, China today is far more leveraged than in 2009 when Beijing last launched a major monetary expansion. Today, such a debt-fueled stimulus program is out of the question, given the high starting point. As things stand, the combination of very high total debt plus deteriorating economic growth will push up the level of bad debt,” Mr Baston said.

However there were four commonly discussed issues where Mr Baston said fears of economic fragility are excessive. 1. Renminbi devaluation is not part of a currency war

The incident that caused the tides of concern to begin to rise was the devaluation of the renminbi in early August.

The renminbi fell 3 per cent after the People’s Bank of China lowered its trading midpoint and investors are concerned it could have another 5 per cent or so to fall.

This sparked concerns the PBoC was not just preparing for lower domestic growth but potentially positioning for a currency war that would slash billions from global budgets, particularly throughout Asia and commodity driven economies such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

However, Mr Baston said the fear the devaluation would launch a foreign debt crisis were overblown.

“China is well insulated from the sort of foreign currency debt crisis that has struck other emerging markets in recent decades,” Mr Baston said. 2. Market volatility won’t trigger a broader meltdown

The Shanghai stock market experienced significant plunges last week that brought the total value lost since the volatility began in June to almost 45 per cent.

While investors and economics remain riveted by the market’s tumultuous trading, Mr Baston said the sell-offs impact on the broader economy would be limited, as equities make up no more than 5 per cent of household wealth.

“Although a continued slump from current levels would generate plenty of hyperbolic headlines about a crashing China, even a further sell-off would have a limited spillover effect on the real economy,” Mr Baston said, adding the Chinese banking system had little exposure to the stock market volatility.

“So, although wealth management products linked to the stock market may sustain big losses, and while it is possible some brokers could fail, it is highly unlikely that a further slump in equities will trigger a systemic crisis.” 3. Deep collapse of property prices unlikely

While Chinese household equity exposure may be low, property investment is far more common and the local appetite for property has pushed prices to dizzying heights.

Mr Baston said the widely held view that the Chinese property market would collapse under the weight of an enormous speculative bubble fuelling high prices was out of step with the two key drivers of the housing price rise: expanding urban population and rising incomes, both of which are set to continue.

“That does not mean everything in the garden is rosey: these fundamentals indicate that housing demand is close to its peak, and that the sector has gone from being a growth driver to a drag on growth, a shift with huge knock-on effects for the rest of the economy,” Mr Baston said.

“But the maturation and decline of housing demand is a very different thing from the unwinding of a massive speculative bubble.”

In the last six months, the Chinese government have lowered interest rates and relaxing regulations that operated as restrictions to property purchasing to support continued buying and still has plenty of room for further cuts or policy changes. 4. Unemployment surge to be limited

A slowing economy is rarely good news for unemployment numbers and there are widespread concerns unemployment in China could trigger tranches of newly unemployed workers, which would cause a significant blow to already weak consumer demand.

But Mr Baston said the fact the major slowdowns had occurred in state-owned enterprises, such as heavy industrial and commodity management sectors, meant a record waves of redundancies were unlikely as these companies had far less flexibility to cut jobs.

“Even in the private sector, firms have balked at making mass lay-offs, with mining companies choosing instead to reduce working hours and award employees more holiday.”

Mr Baston said while work hours and wages had declined, unemployment would remain relatively stable.

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

Dr Oliver Sacks, who died Sunday morning, aged 82, held a unique place in both the worlds of science and popular culture – his exploration as a neurologist of the quirks of the human brain, and his ability to share his knowledge in an engaging way with a broad audience outside the medical fraternity brought him fame rarely afforded to scientists.

Across his 13 books – and of course the 1990 film adaptation of Awakenings, starring Robin Williams as the doctor himself – Dr Sacks imparted his findings and encounters with his case studies through accessible, often moving prose, all of which touched on things to which we can all relate.

Here are some of his best words, from his “neurological novels” as he called them, from interviews and from his recently released autobiography, On The Move: A Life.

On religion: “My religion is nature. That’s what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me.”

On sex: “… sex is one of those areas—like religion and politics—where otherwise decent and rational people may have intense, irrational feelings.”

On his brief period of body-building, when he became known at Venice’s Muscle Beach as “Dr Squat”, after setting the California state record in 1961: “I sometimes wonder why I pushed myself so relentlessly in weight lifting. My motive, I think, was not an uncommon one; I was not the ninety-eight-pound weakling of bodybuilding advertisements, but I was timid, diffident, insecure, submissive. I became strong — very strong — with all my weight lifting but found that this did nothing for my character, which remained exactly the same.”

On music: “Music, uniquely among the arts, is both completely abstract and profoundly emotional. It has no power to represent anything particular or external, but it has a unique power to express inner states or feelings. Music can pierce the heart directly; it needs no mediation.”

“Now that we can listen to anything we like on our iPods, we have less motivation to go to concerts or churches or synagogues, less occasion to sing together. This is unfortunate, because music-making engages much more of our brains than simply listening. Partly for this reason, to celebrate my 75th birthday last year, I started taking piano lessons (after a gap of more than sixty years). I still have my iPod (it contains the complete works of Bach), but I also need to make music every day.”

On his four-year addiction to amphetamines: “I do not know how much a propensity to addiction is “hardwired” or how much it depends on circumstances or state of mind. All I know is that I was hooked after that night with an amphetamine-soaked joint and was to remain hooked for the next four years. In the thrall of amphetamines, sleep was impossible, food was neglected, and everything was subordinated to the stimulation of the pleasure centers in my brain.”

On being gay, a fact about himself he revealed publicly in February this year: “My analyst tells me he’s never encountered anyone less affected by gay liberation. I remain locked in my cell despite the dancing at the prison gates.”

On life: “People will make a life in their own terms, whether they are deaf or colourblind or autistic or whatever. And their world will be quite as rich and interesting and full as our world.”

Some of his most moving words came just a few months ago, when he revealed in a New York Times article that he had terminal cancer, and only months to live, saying he felt “intensely alive”. “Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure”.

Farewell Dr Sacks. “When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it the fate – the genetic and neural fate – of every human to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death.”

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

The co-operative’s managing director, Gary Helou, reiterated its previous guidance of $6.05 a kilogram milk solids for this season on Monday. But he warned that could slide to $5.60-$5.90 a kilogram if global prices for key dairy commodities did not improve as expected.

“Murray Goulburn will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update the market as soon as circumstances materially change,” the co-operative said in a statement.

Murray Goulburn’s $6.05 a kilogram price forecast formed a key part of the listing of its non-voting trust on the ASX last month. The trust’s dividend is tied to the milk price, therefore if the milk price tumbles, so does the investor payout.

The world’s biggest dairy exporter, Fonterra, told Fairfax Media last week Australian farmers were being paid too much for their milk. Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said the Australian farm gate price did not reflect the global dairy rout and called for an “honest debate about what is being earned in the market”. Price defended

Murray Goulburn set the farm gate price in June, opening the season with $5.60 a kilogram milk solids, which Fonterra and others have matched.

Mr Helou defended the price and the co-operative’s $6.05 forecast – which if realised will be the first time farmers have been paid more than $6 a kilogram of milk solids for the three years straight.

“We’re paying our farmers … what we can afford to pay them and this year [2014-15] it was $6 plus net profit after tax of $21 million,” he said.

“Our gearing is conservative at 14 per cent, pre IPO, which is comfortable given this business is in an investment cycle.”

At midday, Murray Goulburn’s shares had jumped 5.8 per cent to $1.96.

While most dairy processors have opened with what they say is a “strong” price at $5.60 a kilogram, dairy farmers are still hoping for step ups, or price increases throughout the season. Costs of production

Australian Dairy Farmers president Noel Campbell told Fairfax Media last month that most farmers operated on a $5 to $5.50 a kilogram milk price to cover their costs of production.

“As a dairy farmer, we have got to be careful in the next 12 months as to how we operate our business,” Mr Campbell said.

“There isn’t much of a buffer there. What happens in the next 12 months in respect to international prices will dictate if there is any possibility of step ups for the year.”

In New Zealand – where Fonterra has a monopoly and up to 95 per cent of its total milk production is exported – the farm gate price has plummeted from an average of $NZ8.65 ($7.81) to $NZ3.85 in the past two seasons.

At the same time, whole milk powder prices have dived from $US4999 ($6957) to $US1856 a tonne, while skim milk powder has plunged from $US4780 to $US1521 a tonne, according to Global Dairy Trade figures. Russian trade sanctions and weakening demand from China has led to an oversupply of dairy products on global markets. Shift in focus

Mr Helou said Murray Goulburn was “achieving strong growth in the face of a strong decline” in commodity prices. He said this was because the co-operative was shifting away from producing commodity products, which now account for about 30 per cent of its total production, and had not sold anything on the Global Dairy Trade auction since 2013.

Murray Goulburn’s revenue fell 1.5 per cent for the 12 months to June 30 to $2.87 billion. Mr Helou said growth in dairy foods, such as UHT, consumer cheeses and fresh milk, partially offset a decline in commodity prices, with sales rising 29 per cent. Its nutritionals business, which includes infant formula, meanwhile surged 34 per cent.

The company spent more than $120 million in the past year upgrading its factories so they could produce more value-add consumer products and less bulk goods.

“All our dairy foods assets, UHT, fresh milk, cheese, consumer powders, nutritionals are flat chat producing value add to capacity, as well as disciplined cost control in the business. That leads to the $6.05 forecast for this year.”

Murray Goulburn’s net profit for the year, although ahead of its prospectus estimates, fell 27.5 per cent to $21.2 million. Lift expected

Mr Helou predicted global dairy prices to lift in the year ahead, as big exporting countries New Zealand and the US reduced supply.

“We think the market has bottomed,” he said, adding that he expected a modest lift in the next six months.

“As well as that, foreign exchange has worked in our favour. It’s dropped to a lot lower than expected.”

Murray Goulburn will pay its farmer shareholders a dividend of 9¢ a share, a 12.5 per cent increase on 2014. Unit holders in its listed trust will not be eligible for the payment.

“If declared, the distribution to unit holders with respect to the first half of FY16 is expected to be paid in March 2016,” the company said.

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

Returning Australian all-rounder Shane Watson has expressed his delight at earning selection for the one-day series against England after being overlooked for most of the Ashes.

Watson has kept a reclusive public profile since being dropped after the first Ashes Test. Since then, he had periodically released videos documenting how he was coping being outside Australia’s first-choice team while still having to remain with the squad in England.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, one after us, the Australian team, losing the Ashes, but also not really playing a part, apart from the first Test here in Cardiff, in which unfortunately I didn’t score enough runs and perform well enough to stay in the side, said Watson, who until the second Test of the Ashes was a stalwart for Australia in all formats.

“The last time we played a game for the limited-overs side was the World Cup final, so we’re excited to get back out there . . . I really can’t wait to be able to get out there and have some fun,” said Watson, 34, to unscriptd整形美容医院m.

“Fingers crossed it goes well well over the next couple of weeks in England, we’re able to win the one-day series, and hopefully personally I am able to put in a good performances as well. I can’t wait,” he said.

Marcus Stoinis, who is set to make his international debut in Monday night’s Twenty20 fixture against England, has not played in the Big Bash League since February 2014, having missed all of last season’s tournament due to injury. He was an unused member of Delhi’s squad in this year’s IPL.

“I played in the under-19 World Cup with Stoinis in Malaysia in 2008 . . . and he’s certainly come a long way. He’s improved every year,” said captain Steve Smith.

“He’s thrown up good performances first of all for WA then moving over to Victoria it was a big move for him. He’s put the numbers on the board and thoroughly deserves an opportunity here tomorrow.”

Former captain George Bailey, spinner Ashton Agar, batsman Joe Burns and fast-bowler James Pattinson were the players to miss selection for the match.

Smith also confirmed Queensland leg-spinner Cameron Boyce, selected only in the Twenty20 squad, would play on Monday, in what will be his fifth match for Australia since debuting late last year.

“There’s a T20 world cup coming up in not too long, so we need these guys to play as much as they can. He performed really well for us in our one-off T20 we played in the UAE [against Pakistan] and I’m sure he’s looking forward to playing out here tomorrow.”

“He’s got a lot of skill, got a lot of variation. It’s going to be a good test for him bowling out here, with the short, straight boundaries and the short boundary on one side. I’m really looking forward to seeing how he goes.”

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

Respected NSW senator Arthur Sinodinos has launched an extraordinary attack on his former ministerial colleagues for leaking against Treasurer Joe Hockey, calling on Prime Minister Tony Abbott to sack anyone found guilty of destabilising the government.

And Social Services Minister Scott Morrison says he “wouldn’t have a clue” which cabinet ministers are briefing against the man he could replace as Treasurer.

Mr Morrison also dismissed suggestions a reshuffle could take place if the Canning byelection goes badly for the Coalition, describing such a move as “speculative nonsense”.

In a rare statement on Monday, Senator Sinodinos said that ministers “should be working hard to win the Canning byelection rather than back grounding against a colleague to scapegoat a potential loss”.

“Holding out the prospect of a reshuffle and even a double dissolution election smacks of defeatism and a lack of focus on the substantive issues of governing,” he said.

“The Prime Minister should sack any minister or adviser who is engaged in such deliberate leaking and destabilisation. We should be working to achieve a swing to us in this by-election.

“Mr Shorten is the real enemy, not fellow Liberals.”

Senator Sinodinos was chief of staff to former prime minister John Howard, and voted in favour of the spill motion against Mr Abbott in February.

Two cabinet ministers have told Fairfax Media that Mr Abbott is being urged to dump Mr Hockey, while an early federal election, to be held in March next year, is also being discussed at the highest levels of the Abbott government.

The move to sacrifice the Treasurer would designed to shore up Mr Abbott’s own leadership and quell a potential backlash after the September 19 poll.

The Liberal Party holds the seat of Canning with a margin of 11.8 per cent but recent polling in the seat shows it is now on a knife edge, with swings to Labor of as much as 10 per cent forecast.

Cabinet ministers have told Fairfax Media that a swing of more than six per cent against the Coalition – which would still see the Liberal Party’s candidate Andrew Hastie win the seat - would be bad news for Mr Abbott and more than 10 per cent would be “dire”.

Mr Morrison told Fairfax radio station 2GB on Monday that Mr Hockey was a great bloke who was doing a tremendous job.

“We are all focused on the issues of jobs, growth and community safety,” he said.

“These stories are better placed in Who magazine, not in a serious newspaper.”

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, meanwhile, said that “instead of criticising Joe Hockey, people should recognise the enormous task he has in repairing the budget that was so trashed by Labor in its six years in office”.

Asked about the prospect of an early election, Ms Bishop said didn’t believe such a move was being considered but did not rule it out.

Former Liberal Leader John Hewson said the leak suggested MPs were positioning should the Canning byelection go badly and warned: “There’s a risk that Canning will go worse than they presently expect.”

“You could imagine them coming from those who aspire to the position and those who want to protect Abbott,” he said.

Dr Hewson did not express a view on whether Mr Hockey should remain Treasurer, but said “a lot of people in the broader community, business people and so on” had publicly criticised his performance since his first budget.

“My view is he’s rusted on to Abbott and vice versa,” he said.

“I don’t think Abbott would easily make that decision unless it was to preserve his own position…the amazing thing is he [Mr Hockey] hasn’t been able to get the economy on the front page. All the turmoil of the last few weeks, changes in world markets and all these things you’d expect it would be front and centre.”

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The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.

Christopher DauntCHRISTOPHER Daunt was a well respected young builder with close and loving ties to his family and friends when he disappeared halfway through a job five months ago.

And that is what is frightening the hell out of his relatives and investigators.

A police strike force has been set up to investigate the suspicious disappearance of the 27-year-old Gateshead man, with one obvious line of inquiry centring around Mr Daunt being murdered.

He was last seen at a North Lambton address on Sunday, March 29, and was quickly reported missing by family.

‘‘It is concerning and being treated as suspicious becausehe has literally dropped off the face of the earth,’’ Lake Macquarie crime manager Detective Inspector Craig Davis said on Monday.

‘‘Here is a self-employed man who was there one minute and gone the next.’’

Mr Daunt was a builder who specialised in kitchens and was halfway through installing one in Lake Macquarie when he vanished.

His bank accounts have not been touched, there has been no activity on his mobile phone and no contact with his family or friends.

There is no evidence he had travelled interstate.

‘‘Obviously one of the lines of inquiry is that something sinister has happened,’’ Detective Inspector Davis said.

‘‘He may have taken some time out, but that is out of character and we have found no evidence of that.’’

Strike Force Retractor, comprising Lake Macquarie detectives, has been set up to look into the disappearance.

Mr Daunt is described as being Caucasian, about 180 centimetres tall, of thin build, brown hair and green eyes.

Mr Daunt’s family and friends have turned to social media to try to find him.

The Facebook page ‘‘Help us find Chris Daunt’’ was launched soon after his disappearance on March 29 and has attracted 2450 likes and been shared hundreds of times.

The posts record the family’s heartbreak as they hope Mr Daunt is ‘‘happy and some place warm’’ and share their disappointment that he did not reach out to his mum to wish her happy birthday.

‘‘Wherever he may be, he is always in our thoughts and prayers, and we cherish all the special times we had with him over the years,’’ the page says. ‘‘Not knowing is so difficult for us, and all we want is to have him home.’’

THE NSW Government has removed a controversial mining policy provision that opened the door to Rio Tinto’s third attempt to expand the Mount Thorley Warkworth mine.

The amended State Environmental Planning Policy known as the Mining SEPP will come into effect on Wednesday, and ensure the economic, environmental and social impacts of mine projects are appropriately considered, Planning Minister Rob Stokes said.

It replaces amendments in 2013 that gave priority consideration to the economic benefits of mine projects after the Mount Thorley Warkworth proposal was rejected by two courts because of social and environmental impacts.

“Mining plays an important role in the NSW economy, however we must ensure that our policies reflect the importance of balance in assessing the likely impacts of mining developments,” Mr Stokes said.

“A crucial pillar of our planning system is that decision makers consider environmental impacts on both the natural and built environments, and social and economic impacts in their assessment of development applications.’’

More than 2400 public submissions on the proposed change were received, with 98 per cent supporting it.

A report on the change will be published online on Wednesday along with public submissions.

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW welcomed the change.

“Premier Mike Baird and Planning Minister Rob Stokes deserve credit for acknowledging that the amendments introduced by the disgraced former Minister Chris Hartcher were unacceptable because they put industry interests ahead of local communities and the environment,” council chief executive Kate Smolski said.

“Repealing this clause is an important step towards restoring balance to the planning system, and marks a significant victory for communities campaigning against it.’’

While the Nature Conservation Council welcomed the decision, ‘‘it only takes us back to where we were two years ago, when the community was expressing many substantial concerns about the approval and assessment process for mining projects’’.

‘‘The real test will be whether or not the Planning Assessment Commission takes this change into account when determining the Mount Thorley Warkworth mine and other mining projects now in the planning system.”

Locals are taking a stand against redeveloping old government buildings at Watsons Bay. Photo: James Alcock Watsons Bay as the locals like it. Photo: James Alcock

Green Point Cottage at Watsons Bay. Photo: James Alcock

Constables Cottage at Watsons Bay. Photo: James Alcock

Sydney Now: Get the city news that matters

A proposal to redevelop six historic buildings on the south head of Sydney Harbour to host private functions is drawing opposition from local residents and even within the Baird cabinet.

Opponents say the National Parks and Wildlife Service plan could bring up to a thousand visitors a day to the cliffs at the tip of the Watsons Bay peninsula.

Buildings next to Camp Cove Beach and set inside the Sydney Harbour National Park would be leased to a private operator for use as function centres, a restaurant and short-term accommodation.

Claudia Cullen, a spokeswoman for residents’ group Save Watsons Bay, said the proposal would turn a secluded beach into a noisy and chaotic “wedding precinct” with more than 1000 incoming guests a day.

“It’s one of the rare parts of the eastern suburbs that hasn’t been hit by over-commercialisation,” she said. “This isn’t about allowing the public access and it affects an historic beach that hasn’t much changed since 1841.”

The buildings are not currently in use but in recent years many have been rented out by the state government for functions and holiday rentals.

But the plans would see the buildings renovated and expanded by a private operator.

The Constable’s Cottage, a 19th Century home, would become a restaurant for seating for up to 70 diners.

An extra floor would be added to the heritage-listed Armoury Building, which would cater for 280 people and two functions. The adjacent Officers Mess would be landscaped and refurbished with capacity for up to 140 guests.

Guests would be driven in and out by minibus through a new path through the National Park.

The tender to operate the buildings was won by a company run by Chris Drivas, whose Dockside Group runs large function centres in Darling Harbour and the Rocks.

Mr Drivas said finding a commercial use for the buildings would, in the long-term, help preserve their heritage.

“We’re not talking about a large increase [in guests],” he said. “We are open to the local community and what they recommend; it’s all preliminary”.

The NSW Attorney-General and member for Vaucluse, Gabrielle Upton, says the proposal risks overrunning a “small peninsula of precious and fragile natural beauty”.

“It substantially increases the intensity of use for [the area] bringing with it more traffic, noise and activity,” she said. “It would seriously and negatively impact on the amenity of local residents.”

Mrs Upton said she would continue to lobby the Environment Minister, Mark Speakman, who must approve the plan.

The function centre would run until midnight, about two hours later than other local venues.

Three nearby cottages would be turned into short-term accommodation, likely to be used by wedding party guests.

Michael Wright, the deputy head of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, said the proposal was “adaptive reuse” of empty buildings and could turn them into “attractive, contemporary offers”.

The designs are open for comment until November 10.

The original release of this article first appeared on the website of ChangZhou Plastic Surgery Hospital.